Monday, February 14, 2022

Alaska Copper River forecast: 928,000 sockeyes ADF&G predicts even year PWS humpy harvest of 4,253,000 fish Cordova Times by Margaret Bauman - February 12, 2022 State fisheries biologists are forecasting another challenging year for commercial harvesters of wild Copper River sockeye salmon, but a better than average even year harvest of wild pink salmon in Prince William Sound. https://www.thecordovatimes.com/2022/02/12/copper-river-forecast-928000-sockeyes/ Processing plant sale divides residents hoping to preserve Pelican’s commercial fishing tradition KCAW by Tash Kimmell - February 11, 2022 Pelican is a small community. But it is a fishing community. And for five years it was a fish town without a processor to buy the local fleet’s salmon catch. That changed in 2015 when Yakobi Fisheries, owned by Pelican resident Seth Stewart, restarted operations in a former crab plant owned by the city. Today, they’re the economic engine of the town of about 55 permanent residents, processing about $1.5 million in fish last season. https://www.kcaw.org/2022/02/11/processing-plant-sale-divides-residents-hoping-to-preserve-pelicans-commercial-fishing-tradition/ National USDA wants to buy more Northeast groundfish for school lunches National Fisherman by Christine Blank - February 11, 2022 The U.S. Department of Agriculture is asking seafood suppliers to bid on 103,500 pounds of groundfish, including Atlantic pollock and ocean perch. https://www.nationalfisherman.com/seafoodsource/usda-wants-to-buy-more-northeast-groundfish-for-school-lunches International Senators Sullivan, Murkowski Introduce U.S.-Russian Federation Seafood Reciprocity Act Urner Barry by Amanda Buckle - February 14, 2022 Russia banned U.S. seafood imports back in 2014. At the time the ban, which also included beef, pork, and poultry, as well as fruits, nuts, vegetables and prepared foods, was supposed to be for just one year. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in calendar year 2013, the U.S. shipped $1.3 billion of agricultural and related food products. Of that amount, the ban from Russia restricted approximately 55% of those products. Focusing just on seafood, Russia was the 8th largest market for U.S. fish and seafood in 2013, accounting for 2% of total exports of those products. The USDA reported at the time that the largest product being exported there was salmon roe for Russian red caviar. “For years, I’ve been pressing officials at all levels, from the Oval Office on down, to pursue a seafood trade relationship with Russia based on principles every American can understand – fairness and reciprocity,” continued Senator Sullivan. “We don’t have that right now, and Vladimir Putin is benefiting enormously at the expense of our fishermen here at home, with the value of Russian seafood imports to the U.S. growing 173% since 2013, the year before the embargo was imposed. The Senate’s urgent interest in sanctioning Russia for its ongoing threats to Ukraine presents a window of opportunity to correct this unacceptable trade imbalance. I hope my colleagues will join me and Senator Murkowski in standing up for our world-class fisheries and this vital sector of our economy.” “As Congress works on a sanctions package to deter Russia from invading Ukraine, it’s important that we explore all sectors of the Russian economy that we can influence, such as restricting imports of Russian seafood,” added Senator Murkowski. “Americans – and especially Alaskans – have faced a one-sided Russian embargo on our seafood since 2014, allowing Russia’s economy to benefit while U.S. seafood has been harmed. I’m hopeful that after years of pushing this issue, this Congress and the Biden administration will finally agree to equalize the treatment of Alaska’s world-class seafood. This is a perfect addition to a package meant to show Russia that undermining and disrupting global norms will not go unpunished.” https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1218810/Senators-Sullivan-Murkowski-Introduce-US-Russian-Federation-Seafood-Reciprocity-Act Federal Register North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting A Notice by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 02/14/2022 The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Partial Coverage Fishery Monitoring Advisory Committee (PCFMAC) will meet March 3, 2022. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/02/14/2022-03101/north-pacific-fishery-management-council-public-meeting Fisheries Off West Coast States; West Coast Salmon Fisheries; Federal Salmon Regulations for Overfished Species Rebuilding Plans A Proposed Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 02/14/2022 NMFS proposes revisions to regulations that implement the Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan (FMP). This proposed action would remove a rebuilding plan for Sacramento River fall-run Chinook salmon (SRFC) from regulation, as this stock has been rebuilt and is no longer required to be managed under a rebuilding plan, and would update language to reflect the 2013 merger of NMFS' Northwest Region (NWR) and Southwest Region (SWR), which created NMFS' West Coast Region (WCR). https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/02/14/2022-02794/fisheries-off-west-coast-states-west-coast-salmon-fisheries-federal-salmon-regulations-for Opinion How a continuing resolution will Impact the next generation of commercial fishermen The Hill by Chris Brown and Leigh Habegger, opinion contributors - February 10, 2022 The commercial fishing industry is facing unprecedented challenges with a graying of the fleet and very few young fishermen joining our industry. In our coastal communities, the average age of a fisherman has increased significantly and the number of “greenhorns,” or beginning fishermen, has continued to decline. Inaction by Congress may make the situation worse. https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/593734-how-a-continuing-resolution-will-impact-the-next-generation-of Sanctions always seem to hurt Alaska Alaska Journal of Commerce by Paul Fuhs - February 10, 2022 The Alaska Legislature is poised to pass Senate Joint Resolution 16, calling on President Joe Biden to seek an end to the Russian embargo on seafood products from Alaska. https://www.alaskajournal.com/2022-02-10/sanctions-always-seem-hurt-alaska Pacific Seafood Processors Association 1900 W Emerson Place Suite 205, Seattle, WA 98119 Phone: 206.281.1667 E-mail: admin@pspafish.net; Website: www.pspafish.net Our office days/hours are Monday-Friday 8:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. *Inclusion of a news article, report, or other document in this email does not imply PSPA support or endorsement of the information or opinion expressed in the document.